OK, here we go. Let's get the Heinlein stuff out of the way first: I like his writing, but am not blind to his faults; there's a good page summarizing criticism and fan essays at site:RAH if you're interested.

Yes, it's a militaristic novel, and the movie even more so. The director is making a point about fascism and the military running the government...but no different a point than the book makes: if the people who can vote and run for office are the products of the military, you darn betcha you're going to have a militaristic, warmongering society. Duh.

The interesting part is how many people call Heinlein a fascist when he was pretty much the opposite side of the spectrum...but we won't go there in this review, check the site above.

That said, I love this movie. Not only fast moving brain candy with excellent special effects, a good solid storyline and a 'happy' ending, but there are so many parts of it that are reminscent of the body of Heinlein's work; unlike the totally suckworthy Puppet Masters, this one really is a good Heinlein novel brought to life.

And that's hard to do, considering how much of the original novel is interior monologue, dialogue and soul searching...very different. Basic plot elements and characters are kept, but the rest of it is a creation of the filmmakers, and nicely done too.

Reality police: As if Johnny Rico is going to chase after ice maiden Denise Richards when totally hot babe Dina Meyer is THROWING herself at him. Right. I believe that.

But really, folks, if you like explosions, Heinlein, or both, you'll love this, give it a try.